SUZY PARKER DILLMAN REMEMBERED

Suzy Parker Dillman, who posed as the face of Chanel, was encouraged to start modelling at the age of 14 by her model sister Dorian Leigh and went onto become one of the highest paid faces in fashion, earning up to $200-per-hour in her prime. Dillman, who was born Cecelia Anne Renee Parker in San Antonio, Texas, later went on to conquer the silver screen, making her Hollywood debut as a dancer in Funny Face alongside Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. Her movie stardom had an uncertain start when her second film, Kiss Them For Me, in which she starred with Cary Grant, received dire reviews. "I watched myself on the screen with a sort of frozen horror," she said. "And I wasn't at all surprised to learn it had a similar effect on the audience." Announcing that she intended to become a good actress "if it kills me", Dillman went on to charm audiences with her performance in 1958's Ten North Frederick, with Gary Cooper. Dillman married her third husband, actor Bradford Dillman, in 1963 and five years later moved 75 miles north of Los Angeles, to Montecito, to escape the celebrity life. She is survived by her husband, four children, two stepchildren and two sisters. (May 7 2003, AM)